Chapter 152
It took Suzy a while to calm herself down.
She truly felt as though she had stumbled upon an unbelievable stroke of luck.
Reaching one hundred percent favorability with a bonded target came with benefits like this... completely beyond her expectations.
In a world like this, absolute loyalty was priceless.
And on top of that, he was a top-tier fighter.
She didn’t even know how to describe what she was feeling anymore.
Shock, delight, disbelief... all tangled together into something almost dizzying.
Unconditional loyalty. Devotion until death.
It sounded almost unreal—but when it came to the system, she trusted it completely.
After all, aside from being a little strange, it had never misled her. Every reward it gave was reliable.
If that was the case... did that mean she no longer had to hide her spatial storage from him?
With his favorability at one hundred percent, absolute loyalty guaranteed, betrayal was no longer a concern.
If she told him, they could even travel farther together to gather supplies—no more secrecy, no more holding back.
Just the thought made her feel lighter.
Having so many resources at her disposal but being unable to use them freely had been suffocating. She had no intention of continuing to restrain herself.
Still, she wasn’t planning to tell him just yet.
Saying it outright would feel too deliberate. She would wait for the right moment.
Having made up her mind, Suzy gently slipped out of his arms, stifled a yawn, and sat up.
"Not sleepy anymore?" Thomas asked with a smile.
She nodded lightly. "Mm."
She hadn’t really been tired to begin with—she had only used it as an excuse to talk to the system.
Now that the conversation was over, of course she wasn’t sleepy anymore.
Oh—wait.
She suddenly remembered something.
She hadn’t claimed the reward for reaching one hundred percent favorability yet.
Thinking back, even the 80-point reward had been absurdly powerful. What kind of reward would a full 100 bring?
She called out to the system in her mind.
[Reward loading in progress. Temporarily unavailable. Please wait.]
She hadn’t expected that.
The reward actually needed time to load.
Still, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t in a hurry. The reward wasn’t going anywhere.
Besides, she had just claimed two rewards in a row—she was already more than satisfied. The earlier excitement had settled.
If she had to choose another reward right now, she might not even know what to pick. Analyzing them took effort, too, she thought to herself.
Ending the conversation with the system, her attention finally returned to Thomas.
His favorability toward her was now maxed out.
Yet on the surface, he didn’t seem all that different—only the way he looked at her had softened.
The depth in his dark eyes had melted into something warm, almost honey-like, as if it might wrap around her completely.
"Maybe you should rest a bit more," Thomas said softly.
He was still worried about her, wanting her to sleep longer. After all, he knew he hadn’t exactly gone easy on her the night before.
"No need. I’m not tired."
She knew he meant well, and a faint warmth spread through her chest.
But she truly wasn’t tired.
The system’s enhancement was too powerful. What should have been physically exhausting had instead felt almost nourishing.
She got up and walked to the window, pulling the curtains aside.
Outside, the sky was still dim, the rain falling steadily without pause.
It had been raining for so long that anyone living in this kind of weather would eventually feel weighed down by it.
Suzy, however, felt nothing in particular.
After letting in a bit of light, she returned to his side.
"Let me check your injuries," she said.
Thomas nodded, letting her fuss over him without resistance.
After a careful examination, she found nothing serious.
The effects of the spirit spring water were astonishing—after just one night, the wounds had already begun to scab over.
She replaced the bandages and wrapped them again, finally at ease.
Gently, she poked at the area through the gauze. "How does it feel now?"
He thought for a moment. "Not much pain. It’s healing well."
"That’s good." She smiled.
He sat up and pulled her into his arms, concern evident in his voice. "Are you hungry? Want something to eat?"
Her hand wandered instinctively to his abdomen, her fingers brushing over the firm lines of his muscles. "What about you? Are you hungry?"
Thomas shook his head. "Not really."
They lingered together for a while longer, wrapped in quiet intimacy, until faint sounds and voices began drifting in from outside.
People were starting to wake up.
At first, it was only subtle movement, but by the time everyone was fully awake, it was already past nine.
Not particularly early, but understandable.
It was the apocalypse, after all. And with the rain still falling, there wasn’t much to do even if they woke early. Sleeping in made more sense.
Suzy didn’t feel bored at all being with him.
That was, until a light knock sounded at the door.
"Miss Suzy, are you awake?" a gentle voice called from outside.
Suzy responded quickly, "We’re up."
She slipped out of his arms and hurried to open the door.
Outside stood a neatly dressed young girl, holding a small plastic bag.
When she saw Suzy, she handed it over with a smile. "This is breakfast."
"Thank you," Suzy said, genuinely touched.
She hadn’t expected Gloria to bring them food as well.
Through the thin plastic, she could see milk and bread—such simple things, yet incredibly precious in times like these.
"The acid rain seems to have stopped," the girl added softly, a trace of reluctance in her voice. "Now that it’s stopped... are you leaving?"
Suzy gently patted her shoulder. "Mm. We’ll be heading back soon. Will you stay here?"
Gloria nodded.
She was doing well here now, fully integrated into the group, even holding a bit of influence. She liked it.
If it were possible, she would have wanted Suzy to stay.
But she knew that wasn’t realistic.
Since it wasn’t time to part just yet, Suzy didn’t dwell on it.
After delivering breakfast, Gloria had other places to go, so she didn’t stay long before leaving.
Carrying the black plastic bag, Suzy turned and walked straight into Thomas’s broad chest.
She rubbed her nose and looked up. "When did you get here? I didn’t even hear you."
Thomas smiled faintly. "Just now."